


practice

by ZinniaRae



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Gen, cuties being cute, damian being a good friend, in his own way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-02 11:33:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10943658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZinniaRae/pseuds/ZinniaRae
Summary: Lian has been off her game lately. Don't think that Damian hasn't noticed.





	practice

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, honestly, this was meant to be more of a romantic type deal but I thought it ended perfectly like this. I mean, you could still consider it the beginning of something cute or just a really nice moment with Damian being a soft friend. It's reader's choice.

Concentration had never been Lian’s strong point, something everybody around her contributed to her father. She adjusted her grip on the bow, repositioning it slightly as her focus moved to the moving target. She was a  _ good _ shot. She’d been training since she was a child, thanks to Uncle Ollie. Just...sometimes she got a little too distracted in the field. That needed to change -- and quick. She’d already had the talk from  _ everyone _ , how she was going to end up dead. Blah, blah, blah. Her tongue poked out the corner of her mouth as she repositioned the bow once more, aiming for the target that was moving in slow circles.

She could hear her father’s voice in her head as she pulled back the bowstring.  _ A little more tension. Breathe in. Don’t breathe out until you release _ . Dark eyes followed the target as it completed it’s slow circle for the fifth time (yes, she had been counting) since she pressed the start button. The pattern seemed clear enough. Following the movements, she let go. There was a  _ twack _ as the arrow hit the the faint, thin black line that separated the inner yellow circle from the larger one outside of it. 

Not bad. But it wasn’t a bullseye.

Just as she was reaching for another arrow from her quiver, Lian heard a very amused sounding snort from the corner of the room. Lowering her bow, she let out an annoyed sigh. She already knew who it was without even looking. Turning around, her assumption was correct. “Something amusing to you, Damian?” 

“You missed.” 

The way he said it, like it was a ridiculous notion that she actually missed the bullseye made rage boil inside of her. Damian had a way of getting under her skin -- but didn’t he do that to  _ everybody _ ? “Really? Gosh, I am  _ so _ glad you’re here. I never would have noticed if you didn’t point it out. Nevermind the fact my whole  _ gimmick _ has to do with archery.” 

“Is that sarcasm, Harper?” Damian pushed himself off the wall, taking slow, methodical steps toward her. Lian couldn’t help but think just how catlike he could be, especially when he was like this. Once he reached her, he held out his hand expectantly causing Lian to raise both eyebrows and tilt her head to the side. “Your bow, Harper.” He sighed, sounding  _ annoyed _ , like she was the one bugging  _ him _ . 

A scoff left Lian before she handed him the bow, a hand going to her hip. “Let me guess, you’ve been using a bow since you were six and you’re ten times a better archer than I am?” 

“Four, actually. I was taught when I was four.” Damian said, gesturing for her to move out of the way. “Press the button to start the targets.”

“Of course. How could I forget? Damian Wayne is good at  _ everything _ .” Lian muttered, mostly to herself as she walked over to the start button. “Never mind the fact archery is in my blood. Never mind the fact I’ve been training since  _ I _ was four. Oh no, forget all of that.” She sighed before finally pressing the button and turning her attention back to Damian. Her brown eyes observed him, watched as he adjusted the arrow she had handed him along with the bow. She took note of his stance, the way he looked so  _ confident _ . The kind of confidence her father and Uncle Oliver had when they were working with a bow, the kind of confidence Lian  _ wanted _ to have.

She watched as he took in a deep breath, got his aim just where he wanted it and let the arrow fly. It hit the spinning target with a  _ twack _ and a proud smirk etched its way onto his face. “Bullseye.” He said, crossing over to her and handing her back the bow. “See. Not hard at all.”

“No one  _ said _ it was hard.” Lian snapped as she snatched the bow back from him. “I just...I’m having concentration problems, alright? That’s it.” She sighed. “I just need to get my head in the game.”

“You are correct. If you do not, I fear I may have to prevent you from going on missions until you can.”

Anger flickered over Lian’s face. Her father liked to point out she had her mother’s temper but really? Lian had a feeling it was a terrible mixture of both. “You’re freakin’ kidding me, right? There is no way in hell you are going to stop me from going on missions! I know you think you’re team leader or whatever here, but I’m not listening to you. I don’t  _ have _ to listen to you.” Her face had a pink tint to it as the anger boiled in her chest, as she fought back the urge to punch him in his smug face because  _ yeah _ while Jason may high-five her for it...that would  _ definitely _  result in her having to sit out on Titan missions. 

“Lian,” His voice was still even, like the girl across from him didn’t look like she was about to punch him in the face. Carefully, Damian reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. “I do not wish for anything to happen to you. That is what I’m saying. If you cannot concentrate, your guard will be down. Bad things happen to people in our career field when their guard is down. It is not a punishment. It is me taking care of you.”

As he spoke, the anger seemed to fade a bit from Lian. He wanted to take  _ care _ of her? She could take care of herself. Still, she understood what he was saying. She gave a little nod, taking a deep breath. “Yeah, I get it.” She muttered, adjusting her grip on the bow in her hand. “Guess I should practice.” She said, taking a step away from him. As she was walking away, a hand on her wrist stopped her. The thought that this was the most contact she’d ever had with Damian, aside from training, crossed her mind briefly. “Yeah?”

“I can assist. Together we should be able to deal with your concentration problems.” There was something  _ soft _ about the way Damian was speaking to her and Lian gave a little nod in agreement. 

“Yeah, sure, okay.” 

 

*******

Lian expected Damian to maybe help her once or twice but no, he was there every afternoon for a week. There wasn’t much talking, wasn’t much of anything except Lian shooting arrow after arrow. Occasionally Damian would stop to correct her posture or remind her to take a breath and exhale. Her shots were accurate, but never quite hitting that bullseye. It was...infuriating. These were shots Lian could have made. She  _ knew _ she could have made them. Her mind was just...just a thousand other places it seemed. 

“Stop.” Damian broke the silence between them after she missed for the tenth time that afternoon. He was crossing back over to her, his hands coming to rest on her upper arms. She lowered the bow, taking a deep breath.

“I know. I know. I just - “

“Stop.” He sighed, piercing jade eyes studying her face. “What is on your mind, Lian? This is not just you unable to concentrate. You have always been a little...easily distracted. Now you are outright distracted and it is getting worse. I need to know what is on your mind. If you cannot speak to me, perhaps you could speak to Irey?” 

“No.” She shook her head, running a hand through her hair. “It’s just...it’s nothing okay? It’s stupid. You wouldn’t understand anyway.”

“-tt- I wouldn't?” It was almost like a dare, like Damian was daring her to tell him what was wrong and Lian was just like her father -- she couldn’t  _ not _ take a dare.

She shifted away from him, leaning her bow against the wall. “I was seeing a guy at school and I thought things were going great and now he’s avoiding me? It’s been over a week. I’ve called, I’ve texted, I’ve tried talking to him in person. I told him that if he wants to break up, it’s cool just freakin’  _ tell _ me.” Lian sighed, shaking her head. “See, it’s stupid. It’s just...I don’t know.”

“You feel like you are not good enough.” It wasn’t a question. It was a statement.

“Yeah, I guess.” It sounded like a simplified version of her problem but yeah, Lian felt like she wasn’t good enough. It was  _ stupid _ . Some boy messing with her self esteem? She was better than that, but it was her first real relationship. She went to move past him, to pick up the arrows that were scattered on the floor.

“Lian,” Damian’s hand caught her wrist and she turned toward him, head tilted to the side. “You are good enough. That boy is an imbecile.” And he  _ smiled _ . 

Damian didn’t smile often and Lian felt herself returning it. She stepped forward, her arms wrapping around his neck as she hugged him for the first time. She was expecting Damian to tense up, to push her away,  _ something _ . Instead, tentative arms came around her, pulling her to him. It didn't last long before the two were parting and Lian nodded a bit. “Yeah, maybe he is.” She said quietly.

Clearing his throat, Damian raked a hand through his hair. “I suppose you do not need my help anymore, do you?”

“Nah.” Lian shrugged. “But if you want to stick around during my practices, I don’t think I’d mind much.” 


End file.
